[Steven Somers Participant Posts: 12]

Topical debate

on: September 23, 2019 at 12:10 pm

Jay Maisel is or should be a national treasure! I found the biography captivating. I could identify with his daughter, Amanda, that he can be a bit frustrating with his narrow focus on what appears to be the mundane; however, I find his innocence and creativity amazing. He is, and would have been for any aspiring photographer, an incredible mentor. I found those little snippets of his philosophy and methods inspiring. Jay leaves you with a fresh sense of how to look at things around you that I find refreshing. I would love to have worked with him at some time. Hats off to Stephen Wilkes for getting in there and doing what needed to be done. This story was a ton of work, I can see, and he communicated the essence of Jay Maisel brilliantly. I think that the only remorseful side of this story is that 190 Bowery could not be preserved as “The Jay Maisel Museum”. What a fascinating man and incredibly gifted photographer!

[Kevin Raber Silver Member Posts: 1311]

Re: Jay Myself

Reply #1 on: September 23, 2019 at 3:18 pm

Couldn’t have said it better.  Stephen Wilkes is an inspiring guy too.  His Ellis Island project was my first exposure to him.  Then worked on getting him set up with a Phase One back when he started his day-night series.  He and his wife are an incredible team.

Kevin Raber
Owner and Publisher of photoPXL

[Jeff Schewe Gold Member Posts: 136]

Re: Jay Myself

Reply #2 on: September 24, 2019 at 12:56 pm

I’ve known that Stephen had planned to document “The Move” for several years…it was a labor of love and pure respect from Stephen for Jay. I have lucky enough to visit Jay’s studio several times over the years and get a tour of the place by the man himself! Last year when the premier was held at SVA in NYC I severely wanted to go…the problem was I was already booked for a workshop in the South West and was due to be in Chinle, AZ shooting in Canyon de Chelly that weekend :~( I looked into leaving my car in Albuquerque, NM to fly to NYC, see the movie then fly back to Albuquerque to get my car and drive home. Too much hassle in the end so I missed out seeing Jay, Stephen and all the NYC photo community give Jay love and appreciation.

But, I found out Stephen and Jay were going to co-teach a class at Palm Springs Photo Festival and also have a showing of the film. So, I took the class (which was a hoot) and got to see the moving while sitting next to Jay!

If you can you really should see the movie….94% Rotten Tomatoes rating!!!

Check the film’s FaceBook page for news and info:

https://www.facebook.com/JayMyselfLLC/

[Author]

Posts